Air circulation fans are often mounted at elevated locations whereby a bracket is mounted upon a wall, ceiling, beam or other similar support structure and the fan is supported by the bracket. Typically, such a bracket consists of two or more components whereby one component is adapted to be mounted upon a structure, and another component is affixed to the fan, and each component is pivotally assembled to another component such that an articulated or swivel relationship exists between the components permitting angular adjustment of the fan.
Often, the components are manufactured of low cost fabrication techniques such as by stamped sheet material and bending processes which reduces the overall costs of such brackets, and holes formed in the components align with one another to receive a pivot pin to pivotally mount the components together. The pivot pin may be in the form of a threaded bolt adapted to threadedly receive a nut to maintain assembly of the components, and the nuts may be sufficiently tightened to lock the angular position of the components with respect to one another to maintain the fan in the desired position.
While such brackets are relatively quick and easy to assemble the construction of such brackets only permit the bracket to be assembled for one type of mounting. For instance, the components of such brackets are either constructed to be assembled to form a bracket for mounting upon a wall type structure or to form a bracket adapted to be mounted upon a ceiling type structure. Also, such brackets only permit swiveling about one axis and, thus, universal angular adjustment of the fan is not possible.
It is an object of the invention to provide a bracket for mounting a fan motor assembly upon a support structure wherein the bracket consist of a plurality of components and incorporates an optional dual construction whereby the components may be assembled to form a construction adapted for ceiling mounting or, in the alternative, to form a construction adapted for wall mounting.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bracket which incorporates an optional dual construction for mounting a fan to either a wall or ceiling type support structure wherein the bracket consists of a plurality of components pivotally mounted to one another such that a swivel relationship exists between the components permitting limited universal angular adjustment of the fan.
A further object of the invention is to provide a universal bracket having a plurality of components which incorporates an optional dual construction for mounting a fan to a either a wall or ceiling type support structure wherein the components permit quick and easy assembly such that the bracket may be readily assembled in either form, and wherein the components are pivotally mounted to one another by a pivot pin in the form of nut and bolt assemblies which permit tightening for locking the angular position of the components with respect to one another and permit the bracket to be easily disassembled and reassembled in the alternative construction.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a universal bracket for mounting a fan to a support structure which incorporates an optional dual construction wherein the bracket consists of a plurality of components which incorporate a simple construction of economical manufacture yet, a dependable and durable bracket is provided.
In the practice of the invention the universal bracket is adapted to mount a fan motor assembly upon a support structure and permit limited universal angular adjustment of the fan motor assembly with respect to the support structure. The universal bracket consists of a plurality of components and incorporates an optional dual construction whereby the components may be assembled to form a construction adapted to be mounted upon a substantially horizontally extending support structure such as a ceiling or, in the alternative, to form a construction adapted to be mounted upon a substantially vertically extending support structure such as a wall.
The primary components of the universal bracket include a base, a hinge, a swivel plate, and a mounting bracket. The base comprises an L-shaped member having a pair of legs disposed at right angles to one another and a cross bar which extends between the outer ends of the leg. One of the base's legs is provided with a pair of spaced holes to receive fasteners to mount the base to the associated structure and the other leg is provided with a hole adjacent its outer end which defines a pivot pin receiving hole for pivotally mounting either the hinge or swivel plate to the base depending on the particular construction being assembled.
The hinge, which is only utilized when the bracket is assembled in the wall mount construction, is of a U-shaped configuration including a central region and a pair of parallel spaced legs extending in a common direction from the central region. The central region is provided with a recessed portion having a hole extending therethrough adapted to align with the pivot receiving hole in the base to receive a pivot pin to pivotally mount the hinge to the base and the legs are provided with aligned holes adapted to receive a pivot pin to pivotally mount the swivel plate to the hinge.
The swivel plate comprises a generally flat body including a pair of spaced sides joined along spaced edges. At one end the body is rolled back defining a pivot pin receiving loop of sufficient axial length to be received intermediate the hinge's legs in alignment with the holes, and the loop is also adapted to align with the pivot receiving hole in the base. An annular ridge is defined upon the body formed of the material of the swivel plate including a convex surface extending from the general plane of the body. A pivot receiving hole extends through the body concentric with the annular ridge having an axis extending normal to the axial length of the loop. The body's hole is adapted to receive a pivot pin to pivotally mount the mounting plate to the swivel plate, and another hole extends through the body adapted to receive an adjustment bolt.
The mounting plate includes a pair of substantially parallel spaced legs adapted to receive the swivel plate's body. The legs are provided with aligned holes adjacent one end adapted to align with the pivot receiving hole in the swivel plate's body to receive a pivot pin to pivotally mount the mounting plate to the swivel plate. At the other end the legs are adapted to be affixed to a fan motor assembly to be supported by the bracket. The mounting plate's legs are also provided with aligned arcuate slots concentrically related to the pivot receiving hole which are adapted to align with the adjustment bolt receiving hole in the swivel plate to receive an adjustment bolt to lock the angular position and limit the angular displacement of the swivel and mounting plates with respect to one another.
To assemble the universal bracket in the ceiling mount construction the pivot receiving hole in the hinge's central portion is aligned with the pivot pin receiving hole in the base's leg and a pivot pin in the form of a threaded bolt is passed therethrough. The head of the bolt is received in the hinges recessed portion and a lock washer and nut are received on the threaded end of the bolt whereby the nut is tightened to maintain assembly of the base and hinge. The swivel plate's loop is located intermediate the hinge's legs in alignment with the leg's holes and a pivot pin in the form of a threaded bolt is passed through the aligned holes and loop to pivotally mount the swivel plate to the hinge. A nut is threaded on the end of the bolt to maintain assembly of the swivel plate and hinge. The mounting plate is located on the swivel plate such the holes in the mounting plate's legs align with the pivot receiving hole in the swivel plate and a pivot pin in the form of a bolt is passed therethrough and a nut is threadedly received on the bolt to pivotally mount the mounting plate to the swivel plate.
To assemble the universal bracket in the wall mount construction the swivel plate is pivotally mounted directly to the base whereby the loop is aligned with the pivot receiving hole in the base and a pivot pin in the form a threaded bolt is passed therethrough and a nut is threaded on the bolt to maintain assembly of the components. The mounting plate is assembled to the swivel plate in the same manner as in the ceiling mount construction.
In both the wall and ceiling mount constructions, the base may be secured to the support structure by fasteners passed through the holes in the one leg of the base to draw the leg into firm engagement with the structure while the other leg upon which the components are assembled extends normal to the general plane of the structure. The ceiling mount construction permits the fan assembly to be supported in a spaced relation below the structure while the wall mount construction permits the fan to be supported in a spaced position away from the wall. In both constructions the swivel relationship which exists between the components permits limited universal angular adjustment of the fan permitting the fan to be easily adjusted to the desired position.
The primary components provide quick assembly and disassembly of the universal bracket and the optional dual construction feature extends the useability of the universal bracket. In either construction the nuts associated with the pivot bolts may be sufficiently tightened to lock the angular position of the bracket to prevent angular displacement of the fan during operation due to vibration. Also, because the components incorporate a simple construction and are fabricated of economical manufacturing processes a low cost bracket is provided which is dependable and durable.